


Bring Her Back To You

by JoMoznaNe



Category: Le bleu est une couleur chaude | Blue is the Warmest Color (Bande Dessinée), Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:15:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28609671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMoznaNe/pseuds/JoMoznaNe
Summary: After Chloe's death, Max goes on a long journey and ends up in France, where she meets a special someone, who appears to have a similar experience as her. Together, Max and Emma get tangled in timelines and feelings, trying to make things better for themselves for one last time.
Relationships: Emma/Clémentine, Emma/Max Caulfield, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 4
Kudos: 9





	1. The Selfie

**Author's Note:**

> The timeline in this story a a bit wacky, as I needed Max and Emma to be closer in age. Max is 24 and Emma around 27 with Clementine having died a year ago. I will apologise ahead of time for two things: my english if it gets bad :D and my lack of activity, if I forget about this story for four months again like I tend to.

The sunbeams shimmered through the windows of Max‘s room, gently waking up the girl. She sat up and looked around. She had been staying in that hotel room for what seemed like forever.

Ever since that fateful day, she had a hard time sleeping. She woke up in the middle of the night, many, many times by now, drenched in sweat and with tears running down her cheeks. Her nightmares always felt so alive, so powerful. Sometimes she felt as if she could still hear Nathan’s terrified pleas, even after waking up. Nathan Prescott. The boy who killed.

Max got up and headed to the bathroom. She used to enjoy long morning showers, but after one particular bathroom changed her life forever, she tended to get out as soon as possible. God damn, everything reminded Max of her.

The brunette wondered, what her friend must have felt like that day. Angry, sad. And most likely scared. But most of all, lonely. That incident was a tragedy. Chloe Price. The punk ghost, the pirate, the blue butterfly. Laying on a bathroom floor. In a puddle of her own blood.

At least Max had memories to comfort her. She was blessed with an entire week to say goodbye. But it was an adventure for her only. Chloe was forced to forget. For the good of her close ones. For the good of Arcadia Bay.

Max left that town a few months after Chloe’s funeral. She tried to keep herself occupied, tried to get over it. But everything reminded her of the blue-haired girl so much. After her departure, Max began a several years long journey all around the states. She even visited Canada for a few weeks. And yet she still felt too close to the place where she lost her blue butterfly. She needed to go further... and further.

France was, perhaps, too far, but Max’s grief pushed her until she ended up on another continent. She settled for France. She was lost for the first few days, switching from hotel to hotel every night. Eventually, she found a relatively cheap one in a pretty big town.

The brunette had been staying there for almost a month. She was unclear on what would happen next, but for now at least she had a place to stay. She knew, that she would need to come home eventually and that she was welcome to do so. But she felt anything but ready to go anywhere near Seattle, let alone Arcadia.

Her days in France had been strange. She didn’t quite understand what people around her were saying, although after a few weeks she started to recognise some words. Everyone was a stranger to her, aside from maybe the old cleaning lady with a cute accent, who had become somewhat of an acquaintance. But she liked it that way. She needed to be alone like that for a while.

The brunette headed for a small café in the area, as usual. The employees started to recognise her after a while, but she did her best to remain distant, yet polite.

Cappucino. As usual. There was a time in the past, where she would have gone for some tea instead. But with everything, that happened, the girl was left so exhausted that tea simply wouldn’t have sufficed.

Max sat back, looking around the café, half empty. She liked seeing the people around her and imagining the lives they must be living. Do all of them live in this town? Or are they tourists? Visiting family? Or perhaps some of them were trying to escape the harsh reality their previous life had put them into... just like Max.

She pulled out her polaroid camera. At first she was hesitant , but since there weren’t many people in the café, she quickly snapped a selfie. She stopped taking them for a while after Chloe’s death, focusing more on her surroundings than herself. But now, far away from home, things were different.

Max admired the photo for a few seconds and then put it into her wallet. She had left her album at home. She didn’t expect to be in the mood for photos.

Returning to her coffee, she noticed a woman on the other side of the café, looking at her with a smile. She had short blond hair and bright eyes, but as soon as Max noticed her, she looked away.

Max decided to not think much of it and slowly sipped her cappucino. Ten minutes later, she was already back on the street, headed to nowhere, like every day. And yet, when she recalled the strawberry blonde, she had the feeling, that this day would be special...


	2. The Papers

The sun reached highest point on the sky and Max was sitting on a park bench. She had been wandering aimlessly for some time now. This was how she spent her days now. Getting lost and finding her way again within this strange town. 

And taking photos. This time no selfies, but more of her bright surroundings. She shuffled through the pictures she took that day. The corners of her mouth curved into a warm smile when she stumbled upon the photo from the café again. She noticed the blonde in the background again and had to smile for herself. She looked like something was wearing her down in the photo. And yet seconds later, she managed to smile so brightly...

Max hid the photos in her wallet again and got up to leave. She had stuff to do still. Who else was going to walk in circles for two more hours if not her?

When she was leaving the park, her mind was already wandering in its own world, far away from here. She was so emerged, that she barely noticed a person walking towards her. And a few seconds later, papers went flying a Max’s camera landed in the grass. „I‘m so sorry!” Max said quickly and bent towards the ground to help collect the papers. „It‘s okay,” the person said, sounding amused. Max looked up at them and froze. She was not sure if her eyes were decieving her, but she could have sworn she‘d seen this woman...

„Hey, you‘re the girl from the café, aren’t you?” the blonde said before Max could even form a sentence. „Y-you remember me?“ she mumbled in surprise as she searched the grass for her camera. „Yeah, you took a selfie in there, right? With that polaroid?“  
Max nodded. „Yep,that was me.“ The blonde smiled and crouched. She grabbed Max‘s camera and handed it to her. „Thanks,” Max murmured. “And sorry about messing up your papers...”

“Oh, that‘s not a big deal. They’re just some sketches, nothing too important.“

After a few seconds of silence, she continued: „My name is Emma, by the way.“

Max smiled and introduced herself as the girl inspected her. „You’re not from around here...“

„No. No I‘m not. How could you tell?” Max chuckled.

„Well, first of all, your first reaction was to speak english to me. And you also spoke english to the cashiers at the coffee shop earlier, from what I can remember. So, where are you from?“ Emma asked, gesturing to a park bench. This was just the beginning of their conversation.

Max thought about the question. How could she explain her situation? Where was her home now? Did she even have one anymore? Maybe those small cheap hotels were her new home. Those lonely beds, sometimes too soft, sometimes too hard, and those small boring bathrooms... They had been an every-day part of her life for almost six years now.

„I don‘t know,” Max responded simply. „You don‘t... know?” Emma chuckled. „Well, this sounds interesting. Please, tell me more. I-if you want to, that is.“ The brunette smiled to herself. Maybe it really was time to talk to someone about it.

* * *

„So... lost love. That’s what’s been chasing you away?“

Max nodded. She truly loved the girl. She only wished she had the guts to admit it to her while they still had time. „I still have nightmares about that day. No matter how far I go, everything eventually comes back to me. I’m on a different continents and yet public bathrooms still somewhat scare me...“

Emma fell silent for a few seconds and Max remained quiet as well. It felt strange, talking about this after all these years. And to a stranger no less. But Max felt a weird connection to Emma, despite having met her just about an hour ago. Something in the way Emma reacted to her story told her that she could understand.

„I’m really sorry about what happened to you and your... Chloe.” My Chloe. Max had to smile, despite the sadess of the situation. „I can‘t imagine what it must have felt like to see her... like that.” The brunette nodded sadly. They sat in understanding silence for a few minutes. But then, Emma got up.

„I‘m really sorry Max, but I have to get going. I have some work to take care of.“ Before she left, she pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled something on it with a pen. She forced it into Max‘s hand and smiled. “Call me if you ever feel like talking again.” Max noded with a grin and watched as the blonde slowly disappeared in the street.


	3. The Call

_“Call me if you ever feel like talking again.”_

Max’s heart fluttered every time she remembered these words. That memory on its own made the mundane hotel room feel much brighter. She did feel like talking again. She felt like talking a lot, in fact. She wanted to know more about the person she confided in. The blonde’s eyes looked so sad, so understanding, when Max shared her story. It lead the brunette to wonder if maybe, just maybe, they had more in common than it seemed.

Max saved Emma’s phone number and hid the paper in her drawer. Just to be sure. She kept the top drawer of her nightstand empty. Well, except for one thing. A polaroid photo of a bright blue butterfly.

Max used to cry every time she saw it. Sometimes even the same colour scheme was enough to set her off. She learned to hold her tears in eventually, but she still avoided the photo as much as she could. Despite its importance, it never earned its spot in her wallet. No, this one had a whole nightstand drawer all for itself. Well, until today at least.

The brunette knew that the picture was a ticket to the past. A ticket back to her friend. And perhaps even better life. She had thought many times about going back and changing her mind. Saving Chloe _again,_ once and for all.

But she wasn’t so sure it would work. After the experience with saving William, she was afraid that there would be a bigger price to pay. A catch even bigger than seeing Arcadia Bay in ruins. And it had been so long... Could her time powers even go that far?  
She shook off these thoughts and wiped the tears forming in her eyes. Now was not the time for a crying. She had to get herself something to eat.

The loud ticking of the clock on the wall accompanied Max’s thoughts as she was scrolling through her phone. She was waiting for her lunch, just like many times before. She had found this restaurant a few days after her arrival. It was small and kind of bland, and the wooden tables creaked with every little movement. But the food was great. And, more importantly, fairly cheap.

Max made herself as comfortable as the wonky chair allowed and continued staring at her phone. _Should I call her?_ She kept asking this question over and over again. She wanted to talk to Emma again, but she was not sure this would be the right time. The blonde left in such a hurry, she must be busy! And so Max put away her phone and patiently waited for her lunch.

* * *

_Should I call her?_

The sun had set about an hour ago. Max had just returned from her “Golden hour” photoshoot and now she was sitting down on her bed, sorting through the photos. She wanted to call Emma right after this. She was preparing for it the entire walk.

And so she finally reached for the phone. But as she was scrolling through her contacts, she shivered nervously. What would she even say? She’d surely do something embarrassing. Emma was still just an acquaintance. Barely even so. She knew about Chloe’s death, sure, but Max still hadn’t shared anything past that. Or even before that. She didn’t mention the time-wrecking week full of disasters. She also left out how she neglected Chloe five years before that. Oh, how she regretted that now. _If only I knew how little time we had left..._

Before the girl could stop herself, she dialed the number and waited for Emma to answer. _Chloe would have wanted me to do it. Hell, she would have forced me to do it. To break out of my shell..._ She was done avoiding people. She needed new blood in her life. An understanding soul. And even if Emma couldn’t understand yet, Max knew she was willing to try.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Emma! This is Max.”

“Oh my, finally. I almost began to think you wouldn’t call.“

„Oh, no way. I told you my backstory and you think you can just walk away? You’re not getting me off your tail that easy!“

Emma giggled. This was going to be a long night.  



	4. The Photo

„Mocha? Really?“

„Sure, what’s the problem?”

„You struck as more of a dark coffee girl...“ Max smiled.

„On some days, yes,“ Emma nodded. „But today is a mocha day.“

Their night talk was long, but not as long as Max would have liked. That’s why they decided to meet for a morning coffee the next day. Max was thrilled and had a hard time falling asleep. All she could do was think about all the things she wanted to ask Emma and the things she wanted to tell her.

They sat down at a table next to a window and quietly sipped their coffees. Max had a lot to say, but she needed her drink first. 

As Emma was sipping her coffee, sunbeams shone through the window and Max’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Don’t move!” she said and quickly pulled out her camera. Emma stared at her with confusion, but then smiled when she realised what Max was doing. The brunete giggled and snapped a photo of the girl. „This one‘s really nice. I’m keeping this one!” Max pulled out her wallet and shoved the picture in. At this point she probably had more photos than money in there.

“Don’t you have an album or something?“ Emma asked.

„No, I left it with my parents. I never expected to be on the way for so long. I expected to feel better after a few months. I also didn‘t think I’d want to take pictures, but here we are.“

„Well, it seems like you’re going to need one soon...”

“Yeah, very soon. My wallet is pretty much full, now I have to find a new place to put them.”

“I have an album I don’t use. The photos probably won’t fit perfectly, but it is something, if you want it..."

“Oh really? That’d be great!”

“Awesome. I could bring it to you tomorrow, or, if you want to, we could head back to my place and I could give it to you right away.”

Max smiled. The thought of visiting Emma’s home thrilled her, even though she wasn’t sure why. “I think I’m gonna need it as soon as possible,” she responded. Emma smiled too and sipped her coffee again. This was going to be a fun day.

* * *

Max treaded from foot to foot nervously as Emma unlocked her door. The apartment complex had a strange tired and washed out feeling to it, but that had no effect on Max’s excitement. She was so happy to be here. This was a great idea.

She was so nervous to be here. Why, oh why, did she agree to this? She already knew she’d mess something up. She’d do something embarrassing and unfixable. Like knocking over some expensive vase. Or spilling a drink on some important documents. It was bound to happen, she felt it in her bones as she was stepping over the threshold. This was a terrible idea.

Something about the place struck Max as... lonely. Emma probably lived alone so that could have been the reason, but she still had the feeling something was a little bit... just a little bit... off. „I have the album in my bedroom,“ Emma said. „I’ll go fetch it and you can be on your way. Or you can stay for a while, if you want to...“

The blonde disappeared behind her bedroom door and Max was left all alone. She looked around the apartment. The washed-out yellow walls, the dishes in the sink, the plain windowsill that had nothing but a small cactus on it. Max was sure now. Despite her behavior and charm, the girl who lived here was very sad.

She made a few steps through the lonely living room. She walked around and slowly drowned her mind in its melancholy. She didn’t even notice that one small box on the ground and just as expected, she kicked it over. It was full of papers and photos that were now all over the floor. “Shit!”

“You okay?” Emma asked, rushing from the bedroom with the photo album in her hands. “Yeah, I’m sorry. I bumped into something... again.” Emma smiled. „That’s okay. I put in a terrible spot.“ She got down and helped Max pick all the papers up. She was smiling, but her eyes gave her feelings away. This box was a sad box. And Max could only wonder why.

They were almost done cleaning up the mess. Only a few photos were left. And one in particular caught Max‘s eye. “Is that... you?“ she asked, picking up a picture of two girls. One with brown hair, one with bright blue. To say this scene looked familiar would be an understatement. Emma took the photo from her hands and noded. „Yeah, that‘s me.”

„And the girl next to you? Who is she? You guys look kinda close...“ Max asked carefully. Her curiosity was slowly getting the best of her. Emma sighed and stared at the photo with glooming eyes. „That is... That _was_ my girlfriend, Clementine.“ Her eyes filled with tears and Max moved closer to her. She squeezed her shoulder carefully. „I‘m sorry, I should not have been so nosy. We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to...“

„No, no, you told me about your past, it’s only fair I do the same.” She paused for a moment and then continued. “I loved her so much... We’d been together for so long, so many years. Her parents kicked her out because of my stupid mistake... And she still stayed with me. But we got into a really bad fight and... well...“

„You broke up?“

„She died.“

Silence fell on the lonely room, Max not sure what to say, Emma thinking how to continue.

„You could... You could say I broke her heart... Literally. Oh, goodness, if only I hadn’t lost my temper... She could still be here.“

Max held her breath. She wanted to know so much more. But she was so afraid to ask.  



	5. The Clock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, this chapter is a bit bloody (just a tiny bit, but I feel someone might want to know beforehand).

Max was sitting on her bed, the room lit by yellow light. The sun had set hours ago, but Max had trouble falling asleep.

_You know, Max, it was all my fault. If I could go back in time and change everything... I wouldn‘_ _t even give myself time to hesitate._

Emma said much more during those two hours Max had spent in her house, but these two sentences in particular stuck with her. _If I could go back in time and change everything..._ Max knew, that once in the past... she could.

But could she still? Did the powers leave her after that fateful decision? She never had the courage to test them again. She never had the reason, either. The thought scared her, but for the first time in years she considered it...

Max turned off the light and threw herself on the bed. If these thoughts were crossing her mind, she was definitely far too tired. She shut her eyes and listened to the clock on the wall, as its ticking slowly lulled her to sleep.

Max looked at herself in the mirror. _Is this what I look like?_ _I remember myself... older..._ She examined her face with almost unnatural interest. However something in her mind was drawing her attention to one of the corners of the bathroom. She walked over there, only to see a grey bucket that the cleaning lady forgot to take. And at the very bottom of it lay a dead blue butterfly.

Max’s eyes were glued to the little insect, despite how much she wanted to look away. She gazed at its bright blue wings, once filled with energy and movement but now still and lifeless.

When she woke from her trance, she turned to the sinks once again. _I have to put myself together,_ she thought to herself and went to wash her face. She watched the water flow into her palms and leaned closer to splash it on her face. Freezing cold water calmed her thoughts for just a moment. But then she looked up.

Instead of her own face, albeit too young, she saw a familiar face framed with blue hair and dead look in the eyes. The brunette stepped away in fear. She reached to her stomach only to find her fingers covered in blood. There was a gaping hole in her stomach. The girl in the mirror had the same one.

Max woke up, covered in sweat. She was almost getting used to those dreams with tornadoes and reliving Chloe’s death... But this one was new.

The brunette turned to her nightstand and turned on the light. There was no chance of her falling back asleep right now.

She sat there on her bed, listening to the clock as it ticked and ticked and ticked. She looked up to it. Tick. Tack. Tick. Tack.

_If I could go back in time and change everything..._

The brunette reached out with her hand, opening her palm slowly. She felt her mind buzz and vibrate. The clock hands stopped moving and the room fell silent, but Max’s mind was filled with noise. She forgot how intense this usually got.

Her head began to hurt. It was a strange pain, familiar and yet long forgotten. The clock hands moved back. Just a tiny bit, yes. But they moved back.

Max couldn’t handle the pressure any longer. She lowered her hand and the clock ticked normally again. The brunette shivered. She went back only a few seconds, but her head was pounding.

She surely would need to practice... But her powers were still there. She _could_ go back in time. The only question remaining was if she _should_.

Chloe’s dead stare crept back into her mind. Her blood on the bathroom floor. And also Emma. Her tears and regrets. The letters she wrote to Clementine as an attempt to cope.

_She wrote me so many letters, Max. She wanted me to know that she still loved me. But I never got to tell her how I felt in those last few days..._

Chloe deserved better. After all she’d been through she at least deserved a chance at a better life.

Max didn’t know much about Clementine, but she knew quite a bit about Emma. The blonde might have been unforgiving towards her girlfriend... but she was hurting too. And if anyone deserved a second chance... it was her.

She reached out for her phone and started scrolling. _God, I hope she is still awake._ She pressed the phone to hear ear, waiting for the person on the other side to pick up. As the phone beeped, she started having second thoughts. _Should I?_

“Max, what the hell?!”

The brunette jerked, surprised by Emma’s sharp voice. All doubts disappeared in that one moment.

 _All of them deserve a new chance. All of_ us _. If there is only a small likelihood of it working, it is worth a try._

_Yes. I should._

„Emma... I know you won’t believe me, but... I think I found a way.”

„What way? A way to do what? Max, it’s two in the morning, I-“

„A way to bring her back.“

„Bring _who_ back?“

„Clementine. I found a way to bring her back to you.“


End file.
